swingandswirl.bsky.social

The number one story tonight needs to be the massive and coordinated effort from state actors outside of the country targeting of elections with bomb threats in an effort to throw the election to a candidate of their preference. America is under attack. This is a crisis of massive scale

I had an econ professor once who liked to describe democracy as a sublimation of war: instead of having a battle to decide who got to be in charge, which was very expensive, you just cheaply counted the spears.

Make sure your spear counts.

no one ever talks about how for profit news outlets make more money the closer to 50/50 a national election is, probably irrelevant i guess

I wish people were hearing the broader story beyond abortion access.

It’s hard for women in red states to access any kind of OBGYN because so many (including mine) have retired, moved, or stopped taking new clients.

Which makes sense when they’re being threatened with murder charges.

the number of leftists who don’t get this continues to be wild to me.

every major successful leftist movement has iterated on previous attempts.

for my marxist friends who don’t know, part of what radicalized Lenin was seeing his older brother get publicly executed for being a leftist.

IMPORTANT: If you’re turned away at the polls because your name is not on the register, don’t walk away.

Your response [verbatim] should be: “Give me a provisional ballot with a receipt, as required by law.”

Don’t let them steal your vote.

Strike up the drum, cry “Courage!” and away.

IT IS ILLEGAL IN MANY STATES TO TAKE A PHOTO OF YOUR BALLOT.

Don’t get your vote disqualified for dumb reasons today.

"People need to donate to their local funds and support access because, even in a Harris administration, the reality is what it is on the ground right now.”

Some of the hardest work I have to do on myself periodically is prepare for the evaporation of rage-fueled activism.

You are not violating a MAGAs basic human rights by refusing to have them over for dinner.

If they want to die alone in angry hate-filled isolation, that is also very much their right and we are not obliged to solve that for them.

As we all await the outcome of what feels like a make-or-break election, I want to offer some perspective, if you’ll hand a fellow with eight-plus decades the mic for a moment.

Superman smashing a nazi plane

let’s get it done

my country elected a fascist 10 years ago and he's now arguably the most unpopular pm we've ever had and we still can't get rid of him because once a fascist gets into power, typically you do not get them out without a whole lot of mass violence. Don't be like us.

Remember: You can be confident we’re going to win this thing but also be terrified that you might be wrong. That’s a sign you’re being honest with yourself.

The US Green party is literally a conservative party with green in the name

Weird nerds who insist it's "unrealistic" for queer people to exist in dark fantasy are so full of it, when queer people exist now, in incredibly dark times.

We are and always will be, regardless.

A dark-haired person with an American flag face covering holds a sign that reads "MY PAPAW FOUGHT THE NAZIS SO THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BUT I'M GONNA."

Just in case there's any doubt.

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight Election 2024: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Grateful to John for getting it. "The struggle for justice isn't just about what happens on Election Day. It's a fight waged constantly...in protests...meetings with legislators, and the thousand small actions that cumulatively move the government forward an inch at a time." 1/

Given that dude is Black, I give it ten minutes. Since he does not even have the armour of our longstanding colonial hangover to protect his dumb ass.

Forcing African Americans to wait in excessively long lines was literally a tool that Jim Crow states used to suppress the vote.

I'm glad people are enduring them to save our democracy, but a true democracy wouldn't have them at all.

why are the mods doing this over and over to this poor guy? It's insane. Here's Adham's new account, follow back if you were mutuals, and pls help out if you can. Even just sharing to your followers could go a long way.

At some point Wiki is gonna have to reckon with the fact that they can keep refusing to let editors use VPNs I get why) and stand up to governments trying to persecute citizens for edits they don't like or they can allow them and steer clear, but they cannot simply roll over to malevolent actors

a reminder to dive into whatever makes you happy for the next few days. don't, do NOT let the existential dread set in. hold it back with bubble baths, long walks, good books. say a prayer (if you like) and then focus on joy, on ease. be the kindest you've been to yourself in years.

Just a reminder, the way we cover election results creates a ton of false narratives. After the final vote is cast, no candidate "comes from behind." There are no such things as "vote dumps." There is a winner the instant the last vote is cast & everything else is theater bc counting takes time.

Having to remind sellers to not use Uline is a mark of time passing for me. This company has always supported right wing shit, never stop reminding people not to use them. There’s always new sellers who haven’t heard. Sharing how you make and sell is how we keep doing

I don't know who needs to hear this...but if you're in recovery from drugs or alcohol, don't let anxiety about Tr*mp take that away from you. Have a plan for election night and the days after.

You've got this.